We are applying for partial support of the 1993 Gordon Research Conference on Developmental Biology (Eric Wieschaus and Jim Smith co-chairmen). This conference brings together approximately 135 outstanding senior and junior scientists for a period of five days in New Hampshire. The Developmental Biology Gordon Conference has been held for over 20 years and has become an important forum for discussing the recent advances in the field of development and cell differentiation. Each of the nine sessions centers on specific phenomena observed during the development of a wide variety of different organisms. Bringing together scientists working with different developmental systems and experimental approaches should lead to a more critical analysis of the results, as well as new questions about the underlying mechanisms. The topics that will be covered in the conference include: long-range signalling between cells; short-range signalling and signal transduction; cell migration and movement; the role of wingless/wnt-1 in cell signalling and adhesion; muscle differentiation; post-transcriptional control of maternal RNA; genetic circuits and down-stream of transcription factors; cell lineage and expression of homeodomain selector genes; and evolution and redundant pathways in development.